Improved cavalry accoutrements



@euren STATES A'rENr rtree.

J. K. MIZNER, 0F DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

IMPROVED CAVALRY ACCOUTREMENTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 52,064, dated January 16, 1866.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, J. K. MI'ZNER, of Detroit, in the county of XVayne and State of Michigan, have invented new and useful Improvements in Cavalry Accoutrements, applicable. if desired, to infantry; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, in which- Figure l is a general View of the same as worn. Fig. 2 is a verticalsection of the haversack in the plane of its greatest width. Fig.

3 is a section of the cartridge-box, showing the arrangement of the cartridges therein.

The object of my invention is to secure a more convenient and methodical arrangement of the rations and ammunition, so as to preserve them intact and in good order, avoiding complication, extra weight, or multiplication ot' straps.

To enable one who is expert in the manufacture or use of such appurtenances to understand, construct, and use the same, I will proceed to describe it in detail, after a few preliminary remarks, intended to deline the original scope of the invention.

The cartridge-boxes and the saber attachment arc immediately supported by the waistbelt, which is suspended from the shoulders by a strap whose rear end is buckled to the belt behind and bifurcating at a short distance from that point, where the respective forks are carried over the shoulders, and are hooked to a chape on the posterior portion of the cartridge box. The biturcated strap passes through loops on the forward side of the haversack, and hooks on the said loops retain the haversack at the required vertical adjustment. The intention is to carry the required number of cartridges in boxes of suitable size and number, and to provide the soldier with, say, three days rations of bread and meat and five days rations of coffee, sugar and salt, in the least possible space, and so packed away that they shall not be mixed and deteriorated by the motion of the person or the effects of exposure. The exact arrangement will be described in detail hereinafter. The cartridgeboxes in front and the haversack behind the person serve to counterbalance each other when full and give ease to the wearer.

The object has been to combine usefulness,

convenience, and economy. rIhe usual haversack has proven to be a clumsy, inconvenient, and inefficient affair, its contents becoming, after a days march, a conglomerated mass, uniit for use, and the improvement, the subject of this specification, is a highly-desirable addition to the comfort and efciency of the soldier, and supplies a want long felt in this arm of the service.

A is the waist-belt, to which is fastened the ring B and saber attachment C. Upon this belt and on each side of the waist-plate are the cartridge-boxes D, which will be described more particularly. Theyare secured to the belt by loops. At the back of each cartridge-box is a chape, E, through the eye ot' which the lower front ends of the straps G G are passed, being thence recurved upward, so as to en gage the hooks F in such of the holes H H as may suit the size and proportions of the soldier to whom the accoutrements are tted. The straps Gr pass through loops I I on the front of the haversack P, and the latter is sustained, as has been remarked, in its vertical adj ustment by hooks L, attached to the loops which engage in the holes J of the straps G, which, uniting at the point K, the single strap G', formed by their unison passing through the loop L' of the haversack K, is afterward united by the buckle M to the waist-belt A. The length of the latter is adjusted in the usual manner, and that of the shoulder-straps is regulated by fastening the hooks F in the manner which has been sufliciently described.

The cartridge-boxes shown are intended for fixed ammunition, adapted for the Spencer ride, but may be made ofany size, and adapted for such ammunition as may be desired. In the sectional view, Fig. 3, the packages of cartridges are shown in position in the cartrid ge-boxes, and the strap N, which is attached to the bottom and passes up one end, projecting at the top of the box, is used to raise the package of cartridges from their bed, from which they can neither be picked by the fin gers nor jolted by any ordinary movement of the person in running, climbing, or riding. Some method of removing them is rendered necessary by the way in which this ammunition is served out in packages containing seven cartridges, which are required, for the comfort of the person, to ride snugly in their boxes, while they may be readily withdrawn, but not accidentally displaced or dislodged.

The haversack P P whose mode of attachment has been described, consists, in general terms, of the upper or box-like portion, P, and the sack P below it. The latter is made and proportioned for containing three days rations of bread, and is suspended from the superior portion in such a way that the bottom of the box fills the opening and closes the mouth of the sack, which is sustained by fastening to the flap Q, as will appear. The upper portion, P, is divided into four spaces, the lower one, R, occupying about three-fifths of the depth, consisting of a tin tray, and supporting the boxes S T U,which occupy the remaining space. The box R is adapted and proportioned to contain three days7 rations of meat, and the three boxes S T U to contain iive days rations of sugar, salt, coffee, respectively. These boxes fit snugly within the upper portion of the haversaelr, and cannot jolt or mix their contents.

On the rear of the part P of the haversack (as worn) is a pocket, XV, adapted to carry knife, fork, and spoon, with et ceteras, if required, and this is fastened by the short straps V V on the flap Q, which close the pocket WV and shut in the boxes R S T U, leaving the sack P unclosed till the straps X of the iiap are secured to the buckles Y on the point of the sack P', and the haversack P P is closed. By the means thus described of carrying the haversacl; it is placed in such a position as to be of the least inconvenience to the soldier, leaving him entirely free to handle all his weapons, and preventing the sagging ofthe Waistbelt under the weight of the cartridge-boxes by means of the counterbalancing weight of thehaversaclnwhich sustains them. The usual haversack is in the way of the trooperin mounting and riding, and, when worn on the left side, interferes with the saber, while on the right side it is in the way of the carbine.

The cartridge-boxes are worn in the position most convenient for the soldier, and are supported entirely by the shoulder-straps when the soldier is in marching order.

The belt can be worn with the saber alone. The cartridge-boxes arevplaced in position when required. The haversack is attached to the belt worn with the cartridge-boxes, and may be readily detached from them and from the saberbelt, so as to get at the rations.

The knapsack, when one is borne by the soldier, is neatly stowed away beneath the haversack, being strapped into a compact mass.

The haversack may be worn by infantry, as the improvement is one of construction, and is not limited by its application to any special arm of the service.

Having thus described lny invention, what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The arrangement of the haversack P, the cartridge-boxes D, the belt A, and forked strap G G G, substantially as described.

2. The divisional haversaek consisting of an upper portion occupied by boxes and a lower sack-like portion appended thereto, arranged and inelosed substantially in the manner and for the purpose described.

3. The strap N, as applied to the cartridgeboxes in`` the manner and for the purpose described.

J. K. MIZNER.

Witnesses:

EDWARD H. KNIGHT, OcrAvrUs KNIGHT. 

